So Many Things Left Unsaid
by WolfGirl4Life
Summary: Leah is the maid of honor at Sam and Emily's wedding, and Jacob proves himself as a more caring person than Leah thought. And so many words unspoken...so many things left unsaid.
1. Leah's Worst Nightmare

**Okay, so ever since everyone started liking my oneshot, Only So Much Time, I decided that I really liked writing in Leah's point of view. She's a character that I feel doesn't really get explained enough in the book, and even though Stephenie may have written it differently, writing about her makes me feel like more of her story is complete. Wow, that's cheesy, but anyway, this might become a series if enough of you like it, so REVIEW and COMMENT!!!!**

I grimaced at my reflection in the mirror. Bubble-gum pink, Emily? Seriously? Was she trying to make this torture even more impossible than it already was? The dress was disgusting. I had refused to go shopping for dresses with Emily, even though I was the maid of honor. I regretted that decision as I turned to the left, wondering if I would look any better at an angle. I didn't. All of the bridesmaids were from La Push; why had Emily thought that any of us would look good in pink? We looked sickly.

"Leah, you ready to go?" Jacob Black said, poking his head in the door, then came in the room. He was (surprisingly) the best man, and was also looking great in the black tux, even though I would never admit that out loud.

"How disgusting do I look?" I asked, turning towards him and pouting. It was a rhetorical question, and I didn't really expect or want an answer.

"Pink really isn't your color," Jake admitted, a smirk forming on his mocking face. I sighed, stepping down from the small platform that was in front of the three-way mirror.

"Let's just get this over with," I murmured, walking towards him. A confused expression flashed across his face.

"If you don't want to be here, why did you agree to be maid of honor?" he asked. His tone wasn't mocking this time, it was pure. Like he genuinely wanted to know the motive behind what I was about to put myself through. I stood there in shock. Jake-or anyone for that matter- had never cared about what I had to say before today. What was it about today that made everybody suddenly care about me? My mom had been fawning over me for hours, never leaving me alone before I all but pushed her out the door an hour ago so I could have a few minutes alone to mentally prepare myself for what lay just forty-five minutes into my future. Did she think that I was depressed enough to kill myself right before my cousin's wedding? I'm depressed, but not _that_ depressed. It took a few moments before I realized that Jake was still waiting for an answer. I scrambled for words, looking for a good answer.

"I don't know. I guess I wanted to show Emily that everything was okay between us; that we could still be best friends like before. Also that I'm strong enough- I'm not about to let all of La Push label me as weak. Maybe part of it is for me, though. So that I can have some closure. Some proof that he doesn't want me anymore, that he doesn't love me like I love him. It's just...I don't know..." I stared at my hands, embarrassed. I had never opened up to anyone like that before, and it was odd that I felt comfortable discussing this with Jacob. Surprisingly, he just nodded like he understood. How could he understand? How could anyone possibly understand how I was feeling right now? That's when it hit me. Jacob did understand. This was exactly what had happened between him and his leech-loving best friend, Bella Swan. Except for the fact that Jacob refused to show up at the wedding ceremony, just as I had.

"How did it feel…knowing that she belonged to somebody else, knowing that it wasn't meant to be? I just want to know so that I'm prepared," I asked him quietly. At first, he didn't respond, and he didn't even move for a while- he was thinking about his response.

"In a way, I felt oddly relieved. I knew she was happy, and that it was what she wanted. It was also that I didn't have to fight anymore. I didn't have to fight for something that I knew I was never going to win. All that time, I had this feeling like that if I fought for her love, I just might get it, though a part of me told me that I didn't stand a chance, I just had to keep fighting. The wedding made me feel like the fighting was over, and I had lost the battle, just like I had told myself from the beginning. It was shockingly easy to comprehend…to understand, more so, to accept," he said.

"So, it feels good? You're happier?" I asked. I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of me being happy after Sam was married to somebody else.

"In a way, yes, but in a way, no. You still remember what could have been if that somebody else wasn't standing in your way, but you also are constantly reminded that they're happier this way, and that makes you happy, sometimes. It makes me mad that she's happier with someone else rather than me, but again, if she's happy, I'm happy. Or at least, that's how I look at it. It helps." He explained.

"Thanks, Jake. Believe it or not, you're a great friend." I said. And it was true. No matter how much it hurt to say so, Jacob was one of the truest friends ever. He smiled widely.

"I'm glad you think so high of me, Leah," he said sarcastically. His white smile clashed against his russet skin.

"Let me re-phrase that. When you're not being a pain in my ass, Jake, you're a good friend," I said smiling.

"Come on, you two, the ceremony is about to start," Sue Clearwater, my mother, said, poking her head in the doorway. She was supposed to make sure that everything flowed smoothly 'backstage', and was not giving up on her job.

As Jacob took my arm, lining up to go down the aisle, I couldn't even look back to get a look at Emily. She probably looked gorgeous next to me in this stupid pink dress. Even though Emily's face had been scarred years ago because of Sam, she had always managed to look stunning no matter what. Of course, Sam was overly protective of her- he didn't like it if you looked at her for too long- he felt guilty. The music started; the traditional piece that marked a wedding day. My mom told my younger brother, Seth, and some girl I didn't recognize to start, and soon enough, it was our turn to walk. I felt almost giddy as Jacob walked me down the aisle. I felt almost gorgeous as the glowing bride behind me, despite the wad of silk gum wrapped around me. My shiny black hair had been blown out to perfection, and my makeup was the best it had ever looked. I easily walked to the beat of the slow wedding march. I saw Sam staring at me. He gave me a slight nod, and I tried to figure out what that meant. Was he saying it was all good between us? That he was glad I was there to support Emily? Did he feel bad for me? I stopped the thought before I could burst out crying. I smiled, and Jacob's arm slid from between my elbow, and we separated. I stood behind Sam, staring at the back of his head so I wouldn't have to look at Emily.

A sudden change in the music caught my attention though, and the boring march that I had walked to seemed to morph into a full-out fanfare. Again, I felt unsuperior to Emily as I always did. The entire audience stood-even Billy Black in his wheelchair in the front row was trying to make his back grow so he could see Emily. I was doing my best, but I had to look. I had to see the beautiful bride as she came sauntering down the aisle. I lifted my head slowly, as if it were a thousand pounds, and looked at her. I almost laughed. All this grief for nothing. Emily didn't look any better than I did, and for some selfish reason, I was glad I didn't go dress shopping. The dress Emily was wearing should have been beautiful, but it didn't fit her petite body correctly. It sagged in the wrong places, and it was too tight in others. Her asymmetrical face didn't do the dress justice, either. As I caught a glimpse of Sam's broad smile, I wanted to mess up the other half of her face. I pulled my thoughts together quickly, though, as I saw Jacob's concerned look pointed directly at me. Seth was nervously eyeing me, too, as if he expected that I would phase any second. I put a smile on my face and both of them visibly relaxed. Emily glanced at me, and I smiled reassuringly, and her wide smile only got bigger. Of course, my smile was fake, but Emily didn't need to know that.

Soon enough, the ceremony came to the part I had mentally prepared myself for so much in the past couple of weeks. Emily had told me that they were each going to each say a short speech talking about their love and what they want to tell each other. As each of them read their speech, I listened, knowing that this was the closure I needed, no matter how painful it might have been. Sam said his first, his voice calm, clear and strong.

"Emily. I can't even begin to tell you how much you mean to me. Sometimes, I can't even fathom it myself how beautiful you are. I have waited so long for this day, and am so glad that it has finally come. I'm glad that all our friends and family are here to witness our marriage, and our true love for one another. I promise, I vow to you, that I will stick by you no matter what happens. I will be there for you as a lover, a husband, a friend, a coworker, a brother, anything you want or need me to be, I'll be there. I will protect you when needed, and love you always and forever," he finished, and the audience applauded. It took me a moment to realize I was crying. The words, no matter who they were directed at, were so passionate and binding, it was hard to keep myself together. I prepared myself for Emily's speech.

"Sam. We've been through so much together, and it has finally led to this. I'm the happiest I've ever been right now, knowing that I get to be with you for the rest of my life. You're not just my true love, you are my best friend. I promise you, that I will be there for you to the best of my ability. I will be someone you can talk to, someone you can cry to, and someone, that you can come home to at the end of the day. I vow that I will never love anyone the way I love you, that I will be faithful and strong, and we will always be honest with each other; there will never be a secret kept between us." Emily's voice shook through the entire thing, and I almost laughed at how cheesy her vow sounded.

"Emily Young, do you take this man..." the minister said, and I had to tune out the rest. I couldn't bear it. I could hardly hear Emily's whispered 'I do'.

"Samuel Uley, do you take this woman..." I squeezed my eyes shut as Sam said those two binding words.

"I do," he said, confident, and ecstatic, and clear, and strong...so much emotion packed into two little words that made my heart practically rip in half. It hurts more when you can actually feel your heart breaking, I realized. The minister's next words were unclear to me. They seemed far away, like I was in a deep in a cave far away, yet so close to this moment. I was woken out of my trance when the crowd applauded. Thankfully, I had missed their first kiss as husband in wife. Sam grabbed Emily's hand, and they ran down the aisle. Jacob beckoned me forward as I realized that it was our turn. I took his hand.

"Are you okay?" he mumbled into my ear.

"For now," I muttered. Once we were outside, Emily found me immediately; Jacob went over to talk to Sam.

"Oh, Lee Lee, thank you so much! You are the best friend ever!" she squealed. She seemed to forget all the pain I was in right now. Right, great friend, Em.

"Thanks, Em. Congratulations though, I'm glad everything worked out for you." I said, though the enthusiasm was a little flat. A little was just a bit of an understatement

"Lee, thank you, really. This couldn't have been easy for you, and I don't like making things hard, so I'm forever grateful to you..."

"Em, seriously, chill. It was no big deal." Yes it was. It was a huge deal. And, though I would never show it, I was dying, on the inside at least.

Sam suddenly motioned for me to come over to him. I blinked twice, wondering if I had imagined it, or if it had been a trick of the light, or maybe my subconscious mind showing me what I wanted most. I then looked behind me, but there was only Emily, hugging Jacob.

"Leah," he said, motioning for me again. His voice was quiet, only the werewolves here could have possibly heard it. I hesitated, but eventually moved forward. What could he want from me? After everything he'd put me through, I couldn't believe he actually wanted to say something to me. What was it? What could he possibly take from me now? I had nothing left to give him, let alone everyone else. I had nothing anymore, so what did I have to lose? Once I reached him, it was silent for several long moments. He then took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. Those were the words I had been waiting to hear for a long time. The pained expression on his face seemed wrong at this event, and I looked back at Emily, who was staring straight at me.


	2. Emily's Assumption

Several moments later, Emily was still staring at me. Her dark brown eyes, scrutinized my face, and then turned to Sam. I don't know what he did, but she seemed to relax. I hesitantly turned back to him.

"What are you apologizing for?" I asked quietly, trying my best to sound confused, though I knew I wasn't fooling anyone-not even myself. He didn't even bother answering my question.

"I'm terribly sorry, Leah. I am. I know you don't believe me, but it's true. It's pained me to see how hurt you are, and it makes me guilty. I don't like seeing you unhappy, Leah, I promise. I'm sorry," I looked into his deep brown eyes, which was a mistake. For a moment, I lost my train of thought, but I snapped out of it, and regained control over myself again before I could fall down the dark, downwards spiral once again. I couldn't let myself do that, not when I had come so far.

"Why are you apologizing for something you can't control? What happened wasn't your fault, Sam. You shouldn't feel guilty," I said, and was taken aback by the truth of my own words. I had been holding this against him for years, grieving over him, blaming him. At the time, I hadn't understood why he just didn't love me anymore. I didn't understand what I had done wrong that made Emily so much better than me. I had been La Push's most annoying, bitter girl for so long. I was mean, hurtful, and most of the time, the people I picked on didn't really deserve it. _So maybe, this part of me did exist when Sam and I were_ _together,_ I thought to myself. _Maybe, if I really am like this, maybe..._it pained me to even think it_; maybe I don't deserve someone as great as Sam. _More than that, Sam didn't deserve someone as horrible as me. I wasn't just horrible, I was a monster. I actually enjoyed seeing others feel the bottomless agony I suffered, even momentarily. It was even better if I was the source. They didn't understand what it was like to be me, and that made me even angrier. Because there was no one I could talk to, no one who was like me, I was all alone. I had been inflicting pain on everyone near me for as long as I can remember,

"I know I shouldn't, but I do, Leah. I can't help it. It drives me crazy knowing what I did to you, and that I can't fix it. I can't go back in time, to prevent us ever from meeting, so you wouldn't have to suffer so much now. You would be happy, and I wouldn't feel all this..."

"Remorse?" I offered scornfully. His eyes darkened with frustration. I wasn't cooperating with what he was trying to get across. He instantly regained control of himself.

"Leah..." he said, pausing, but I filled in before he could continue.

"Sorry, that wasn't fair. I know this is hard for you, well I know it's hard for me..."

"Leah, I don't hate you. I don't hate you like the others do, because I know you better. I just hate the way you act sometimes. I remember the girl you were, and...I kind of miss her."

I missed her too. I missed being happy. I missed not bursting out into tears for no reason. I missed peaceful sleeps, dreamless nights, I missed not crying myself to sleep every night, just to wake up and find I was crying then too, I missed being nice, I missed people wanting to be around me, I missed being loved, I missed my mother wanting to spend time with me, I missed Seth not being afraid of me like I knew he was, I missed...everything I used to be. Everything I wasn't anymore. Everything I couldn't get back.

I was pulled back into reality by Sam's touch, so scorching to others, felt normal on mine. I flinched away from it, not letting him touch me.

"Leah, if you would just be the girl that I know, the girl that I loved..." he cut off, instantly catching himself. Though he didn't accent the past tense, it seemed emphasized to me. I felt a tear roll down my cheek; surely, my makeup was smudging, but I couldn't think about my appearance right now-my head was already too crowded.

"I can't just change, Sam. I'm not that girl anymore," my voice was cracking, and my throat felt closed up. For the first time, I glanced around. For a minute, it felt like Sam and I were the only people on the planet. My mom was standing a short distance away, her eyes panicked as she watched me converse with Sam. Seth was biting his lip, he was worried maybe that I would phase and ruin everything for everyone. Again.

The rest of the pack stood together. Quil was putting Claire on the ground, and I could hear him whisper "Go find your mom," she protested but he begged her. Paul told Rachel to go hang out with Emily, and Jared did the same for Kim.

Jacob's expression caught my eye. He looked...anxious. But he didn't seem to worry about me phasing, his stance wasn't ready to sprint over to me, just in case. His gaze rotated between me and Sam, as if he cared about what Sam was doing to me.

"Help," I mouthed at Jacob, to quickly for Sam to see. He nodded and whispered something into Paul's ear. Paul gave him a confused expression, but didn't question and started forward.

""Hey Sam, buddy! First member of the pack to tie the knot! Congrats, man!" Paul pounded Sam on the back, and Sam unwillingly turned away from me.

"Thanks Paul," Sam said quietly, turning away from me, and for that I was glad. I didn't really want to talk to him anymore. It was bad enough that I was practically his slave- he being the alpha, could technically make me do anything, though he didn't like to. I tried to deal with him as little as possible when I was human.

Sam turned to the pack, opening his arms, everyone piled into the group hug, and Jacob pulled me into the middle of it.

"Sam, sweetheart, time for some pictures, boys, Leah, you too," my mom said. Everyone turned and followed Sue to a beautiful gazebo, where a photographer was setting up his camera.

"You okay?" Jacob whispered as we followed.

"I'll survive," I said, checking my face in my compact mirror. I smiled up at the sky, to god, grateful my makeup hadn't smudged. Thank god for waterproof mascara. My eyes weren't red and puffy, and if I could hold myself together for a few more minutes, I could pull off happiness without anyone second glancing at me.

"You sure?" he asked, truly concerned now. "We can leave as soon as these pictures are done. I'm sure they'd understand," he said, glancing up at the happy couple.

"Okay," photographer said. "I like to get EVERYONE. So we'll start with the bride and groom, then we'll add parents, maid of honor and bride, best man and groom, all the best men and bridesmaids with and without the bride and groom, then individuals, okay?" I almost laughed at the photographer's high pitched squeaky voice.

Sam and Emily stepped up, and it felt like a full-blown photo shoot. They did poses looking at the camera, Emily looking at the camera, Sam looking at her, looking at each other "lovingly", kissing, Sam holding her cradled…it went on and on, and each pose seemed even more stupid and cheesy than the previous. I turned away, really not wanting to see it.

"Leah, it's your turn," my mom said, taking my hand, and guiding me up the stairs to where Emily stood. She rolled her eyes playfully; she hated getting her picture taken. She would never admit it aloud, but I knew she was embarrassed about her scars on her face, which made Sam self-conscious for her whenever they got their picture taken.

Surprisingly, getting my picture taken with Emily was…well, quite fun. It boosted my confidence when I would smile at the photographer, and he would compliment me on it. I was having too much fun apparently, hamming it up for the camera, because I was disappointed when my mom interrupted.

"Okay, Lee, that's enough," she said motioning for me to come down from the gazebo. "Jacob? Sam? You're up." I helped Emily with her train as she struggled to get down the stairs in the big fluffy dress. When we were safely away--out of the photographers shot, Emily started asking questions.

"So, what did Sam say to you that was making you so upset?" she asked. I winced as I thought about what Sam had said to me, it seemed centuries, not minutes, ago.

"It was nothing," I said quietly, though it was definitely not nothing. I was so weak talking about it; the three words came out in a whisper. Emily stared at me, a concerned look on her face, but didn't push it. She knew better than that.

"And what's with you and Jacob?" she asked, smiling. I frowned even deeper at her assumption.

"Me…and Jacob? What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Oh, come on Leah, give it up."

"What are you talking about?" I repeated, but Emily exhaled sharply, exasperated. "What?" I demanded.

"Oh come on, you don't seriously think you can fool me, can you?" she asked.

"Emily, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't make me ask you this," her tone sounded like she was having fun with this, yet was threatening and concerned at the same time.

"Huh?" I asked, Emily rolled her eyes once again.

"You and Jacob are together. Right?" she asked anxiously.

"No!" I said, too quickly. But as I said it, I could see how she could have come to this conclusion. Jacob had been paying an uncharacteristic amount of attention to me today. I only now noticed the protective glares he shot at me between pictures. The way he had hovered over me before. I reviewed the past few hours in my head, pausing when I came to the dressing room. Jacob had shown a lot of interest in my feelings today, and for that I was grateful. I probably wouldn't have been able to survive this day without his reassuring words. But also, I saw how weird it would look to the pack, or anyone in the know, someone like Emily, who knew that Jacob and I were constantly bickering.

"Okay…" Emily said, lifting her arms as if she surrendered. I didn't say anymore and neither did she. She knew that if I wanted to say something I would've said it.


	3. Everything Was Going GreatUntil Now

For the rest of the time, Emily and I didn't speak, but I knew what she was thinking. I reviewed the conversation, and it was easily predicted what she would be thinking about.

_Dammit, _I cursed internally as Jacob came over to me when the pictures were finished, and immediately whispered in my ear.

"Still okay?" he asked, his voice nervous. I glanced at Emily, and wanted to smack her. She was raising one eyebrow at me, giving me a look that said it-doesn't-look-like-you-and-Jacob-are-only-friends-you-were-lying-weren't-you look.

"Yeah," I muttered.

Sooner than expected, it was time for Jacob and me to get pictures taken alone. We were the last ones to go-everyone else was hovering close to the limousine that was meant to take us to the party. We stepped up, Jacob awkwardly holding my hand, and waited for the photographer to place us.

"Look at this lovely couple. Looks like I'll be coming back sooner than expected," the man said. I looked nervously over at Jake.

"No, no, it's not like that. We're just friends," he said quickly. The photographer didn't look convinced.

Even after we told the photographer that we weren't a couple, he made us pose like we were.

Jacob stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I had to reach back and hold him close to me. It was a very weird arrangement, and soon enough Jacob was asking if we could switch. I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye of Emily giggling to herself. I shot her a death glare, and she looked at the ground.

"Fine," the photographer said, obviously insulted that we asked him to stop. "Do it your way. You'll see how the pictures come out." He pouted, and I nearly burst out laughing. Nearly.

Before I could even think about it, Jacob scooped me up into his arms, and tickled my ribs slightly. This would have pissed me off if not for the occasion. I really did want the pictures to come out good. So I looked up at him, and laughed harder than I had in ages.

"Genius, genius. I am such a master," the photographer praised himself. This time, I let out a giggle.

"But seriously, you two are a lovely couple. Here's my card," he handed me a small white business card with his name and phone number on it. "Call me when you two are ready. Your pictures will be better than these guys, I swear." He rolled his eyes and turned away from us. When we were far enough away, I took the business card and ripped it. Jacob laughed enthusiastically.

It was a ridiculously small wedding. Only 55 people showed up, about ¼ of La Push. The wedding was cheesy, or it was in my point of view.

Jacob hovered over me the whole time, for the cake cutting, the first dance…and by the time an hour had passed, I was getting irritated. I understood that the wedding could not be ruined on my account, and that this was a good thing, but it made me feel weak. Like I needed someone to watch over me. I didn't say anything, though; for fear that he might leave me to suffer this alone. It was time to make a toast. Both Jacob and I had to make one. Jacob was first.

"Good evening everyone, he started as the D.J. handed him a microphone. "Just have to say a few words about my buddy, here, Sam, so I'll make this as painless and tear-free as possible," everyone laughed. "So, Sam and I haven't been friends for too long, just a couple years, but I have seen him grow in ways that I would have thought impossible in anyone else. With Sam, it was only to be expected. Everyone knew he was meant for something greater than our expectations. He has handled a lot of tough things in the past few years, and has dealt with it extremely well.

"But then he met Emily, one of the kindest, truest, most beautiful women I have ever met. The first time I saw them together, I knew Sam loved her. You can see the difference in his eyes whenever she walks into a room. It looks like he can only see her, and no one else. To him, she is the only thing there is. Emily, you are extremely lucky to have a man as amazing as he is. Sam, I hope that you and Emily are happy together for the rest of your lives. Cheers," he lifted his glass and clanked it against Sam's. I lifted my glass, and stood up. I pulled a note card out of my purse, and took the microphone from Jake.

"I can assure you that my speech will be just as painless, but I can't guarantee the tear-free part," people laughed at my joke, making me smile.

"So, Emily isn't just my cousin, she's more like my sister, and it's been that way since…well, since I can remember. We played together every summer, and cried together when she had to go home. As we grew older, it was harder to see each other, but we did get together when we could manage.

"A few…I don't know how long it must have been, weeks, years? Emily came down to La Push to visit Seth, my mom, Sue, my dad, Harry, and I. That was when she met Sam. She didn't leave since. I could notice the small changes in her, the changes that Sam made. She walked with a spring in her step, she sat up just a little straighter, and she always had this gleam in her eye that always says true love…" I cut off, realizing I was crying. I had cut out my part in their story, making this easier, I wiped my tears.

"I didn't promise this would be tearless," I said, everybody laughed again. I saw Emily out of the corner of my eye, drying her own eyes. My mom was doing the same. "Anyway, it's been years since the day Emily and Sam met, and I haven't seen them fight or anything like that even once. They are not like normal married couples who bicker about every little thing. They want what the other wants, and that makes their bond even stronger. I can't explain how happy I am for both of you," my voice was shaking with tears. "I see how much you love each other, it's in your eyes today, and always. Emily, you're like a sister, now and forever. I'm so happy you found someone as great as Sam to spend the rest of your life with. Sam…" I trailed off, looking at the words on the note card. They weren't right. I was going to have to wing it. I looked over at him and started again.

"Sam, I want to thank you for the past couple of weeks. You've been there for me, and I fully appreciate that…more than you know. You are so lucky to have someone as wonderful as Emily for the rest of your life. I wish you happiness, love, and compassion for the rest of your lives…together," I raised my wine glass, and everyone followed my lead. "To Sam and Emily,"

"To Sam and Emily!" the crowd yelled, and sipped their wine. I did the same, and winced. I hated alcohol. The crowd was cheering.

Soon enough, Jake was by my side.

"That was amazing. Ten times better than mine," he said. I smiled gratefully.

"Thanks. I do my best," I said. He sat next to me then, and we both watched as Emily and Sam made their way to the dance floor. He watched them thoughtfully, an odd expression for him to be wearing in this atmosphere. It took about a minute and a half for him to finally speak.

"Hey, um, Leah. Do you, you know…want to dance?" I stared at him for a moment, my jaw dropped in disbelief.

"You want to dance…with me?" I asked, my voice still shocked.

"Yeah, well, I assumed that the best man and the maid of honor get at least one dance, am I right?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.

"I don't think you are right, Jake, but sure, I'll dance with you if it'll make you feel better," I said, not sure where the words were coming from. At that moment, I felt every wolf's head in the room snap up and look at the place where Jacob and I were sitting, and that included Sam. Seth, Collin, Brady, Embry, Quil, Jared, and Paul looked extremely confused, but Sam looked…satisfied. The look on his face was strange; I couldn't comprehend it.

I felt everyone's eyes on me. The pack…in my peripheral vision I saw Billy Black, my mother, Old Quil, Emily, Kim, Rachel…I felt everyone's eyes on me, and for a moment, though the feeling was strange, I felt beautiful. It was an odd, a random thought, but that's what I felt.

Had only seconds passed? It felt like hours as Jacob took my hand, helping me out of my seat, and guided me to the dance floor. Everyone watched as he nervously placed his hand gently on my waist, took my hand, and as I placed my hand on his broad shoulder. Again, I felt beautiful as everyone watched. Things seemed to move in slow motion, a montage almost. I saw everyone watching my face intently, waiting for me to explode and ruin everything. I ignored them, and focused on Jacob.

"Thanks, Jake. You've been really, really nice to me today. You've treated me much better than I deserve."

"You're welcome," he said. I noticed how carefully his hands were on my waist, gentle. I noticed how aware he was of everything I did. I loved this feeling, even if I didn't know what it was. I couldn't name it. I tried to cherish the moment, immerse myself in the pure bliss that it gave me.

Then, the song changed. It morphed into a soft melody, a simple strumming of an acoustic guitar, passionate, slow. It was familiar…and then I felt my heart plunge to my feet, and I felt the tears that I had been holding back all day threaten to spill over. I felt myself slipping. I felt the image that I had been trying to create start to fade. Before it could, I slipped out of Jacob's grasp, and sprinted out of the room. Slightly too fast than what was safe, but having everyone know that I had the ability to morph into a giant wolf was at the bottom of my "worst thing that could possibly happen" list at the moment. I could feel my whole body shaking, I could feel a tidal wave of pain crashing over me, I could feel everyone's confused look as I left…but the thing I could feel the most was Sam's eyes following me all the way out the door. He didn't leave Emily's side, but he was the only one in the room that truly knew what was going on. He was the only one who knew why I had left the room in tears. I heard Jacob run after me in a frantic search to find me. I heard my mother muttering to herself under her breath. I heard the room buzz with gossip. I heard Emily asking Sam what happened. She didn't get an answer.

**Drama rama!!! Hahaha. Big cliffhanger, right? I just love that. Anyway, I'm thinking maybe the next chapter should be in Jacob's point of view. What do you guys think? Review and tell me!!!!**


	4. The Escape

Jacob Black

I had to admit, things today were pretty strange. I had been there for Leah...Leah! Leah of all people. But I felt bad for her, and even though she annoyed me so much, I had suffered this pain once, and no one, not even Leah deserved it. It was much, much too horrible. So, yeah, being there for Leah was the right thing to do. I knew that as soon as this was over everyone would be all over me asking me what was wrong with me for hanging out with her…willingly, but it didn't matter. Because today, I saw her. I saw her really for the first time. I saw the dark circles under her eyes, and the prominent red that stood out against her dark black irises. I saw her tangle of black hair that even at an occasion like this, where it was fancy and done up, it was tangled and messy as if she didn't care. I saw her limp posture, slumped over like she didn't have the strength to hold herself up anymore. And though I saw all of this almost every single day of my life, as did everyone else, no one ever really cared enough to put together the pieces and see that Leah was…in pain. As strong as she tried to come off, underneath that mask, deep down, she was hurt beyond repair. She needed someone, and though I didn't like her much, I had a feeling that if it wasn't me, it wouldn't be anybody. And even though she looked like a mess, she still looked…well…beautiful.

Asking her to dance was a move I hadn't exactly planned. It kind of just slipped out, and once I said it, it was impossible to take it back. She accepted, though, and so there we were on the dance floor, everyone's eyes on us as we swayed back and forth to the music in a slow circle. She was quiet for a long time. It wasn't really uncomfortable, not really. Despite everyone's critical stare, it was kind of nice. Leah spoke then.

"Thanks, Jake. You've been really, really nice to me today. You've treated me better than I deserve." I smiled, though she couldn't see; she wasn't looking at me.

"You're welcome," I said. I spun her around in another slow circle, and then placed my hand, very gently on her waist. I braced myself for her to slap it away, realize what she was doing, and leave me alone on the dance floor, but she didn't. She simply put her hand on my shoulder and continued to dance with me. This continued for the rest of the song, and we continued to dance into the first couple of bars into the next.

Suddenly, Leah gasped. The glimmer, the shadow of happiness that had showed in her eyes was gone, replaced by a burning agony that tore at my heart for reasons that I couldn't even begin to understand. She sprinted out of the room, breezing by me. It took a moment, but everyone started murmuring to each other, wondering what happened. I looked over at Sam, who was staring after Leah. He was the only one who didn't look confused.

"What happened? Where did she go?" Emily asked quietly. Sam didn't reply. Emily started forward to go after her, but Sam held her back. Someone tapped my shoulder. I turned, and it was Sue Clearwater, Leah's mother.

"What happened? Why did she leave like that?" she asked, a little accusingly as if I was the cause.

"Um, I don't know Sue, one second we were dancing, the next she was running away crying," I said, she nodded apologetically, realizing it wasn't my fault.

"Thank you, Jacob. For being there for her today. I don't know what I would've done without you, what she would've done. Anyway, go after her, see what's wrong."

"I'll do it," Sam said, coming up behind me.

"Sam, I think I should…" I started, but he lifted his hand, silencing me.

"I have this one under control, Jacob."

"Sam, what is this all about?" Emily demanded, grabbing his arm.

"Emily, it's nothing you need to worry about."

"But Leah-"she started.

"Leah will be fine. Just let me talk to her."

"Sam, I think that she'll…" I protested again.

"Jacob, you have done a great job of keeping Leah under control today, but I need to talk to her. She will be fine, just let me through." The last three words were coated with the alpha's tone, and though I thought that Sam talking to her would do more bad than good, I let him go. I hated the way he talked about her just now. _You have done a great job of keeping Leah under control…_ I hadn't been watching out for her, like a guard dog or anything (no pun intended), I was just there for her, making sure she was okay. Sam assumed that I was doing it as a service to him and Emily for the wedding, but really, I really wasn't. If anything, I was giving a service to Leah. Emily tugged on my arm.

"Come on Jacob," she mumbled. I sighed, but followed her. Not for long though-as soon as she let go of me, I ran for the door.

"Jake," she hissed.

"I'm just listening, okay?" She sighed, and turned away from me. I ran for the door, and heard Sam's voice from a room not far from here.

"Leah?" he asked, she didn't respond.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked. I could imagine many possible answers. I didn't know which Leah to expect, feisty Leah, or soft, deeply in pain Leah.

"No. Just leave me alone, Sam. Haven't you hurt me enough for one day?" she asked. I smiled…it was feisty Leah's sarcastic tone.

"Leah, I told you I'm sorry…"

"You think that changes anything?! You think that makes everything better now that you apologized for ruining my life?! You think that two little words will ever make me forgive you?! Just run off into the sunset with Emily, Sam. Leave the half-crazed ex-girlfriend behind. I'll just be sitting here, waiting for you to let go of her!"

"Leah, it's not like that…"

"Sam, it's exactly like that, and you know it. Stop pretending that you haven't hurt me!" she screeched. "Leave me alone, Sam. I don't want anything to do with you anymore."

"Leah…"

"Go, Sam!" And that's what he did. He left the room. I could hear her sobs. I sprinted out from the party. I heard Emily shriek my name, but her voice was drowned out by the music. I found the room where Leah was, Sam was just closing the door.

"Careful, Jacob. She's not in a good mood."

"I know how to take care of her a lot better than you do, Sam. I think that's pretty clear." I said confidently. I couldn't interpret his stare. It was hurt, and embarrassed, and well, it's like he knew what I was saying was true. He walked away; I took a deep breath, and opened the door.

"Go away, whoever you are! I don't want to speak to you!" she said, her voice muffled.

"Leah, it's me, Jacob. Can I come in?" There was a pause.

"Yes," she said quietly. "You can come in Jacob." She was curled up into a ball on the couch, a pillow between her knees and her torso where she buried her face.

"Leah?" I asked, sitting down next to her.

"Yes?" she asked weakly.

"I'm not going to ask if you're okay, because the answer's obvious, and I'm sure you'd probably hit me." She laughed breathily.

"Probably," she agreed.

"But can you tell me why you ran out like that?"

"I don't know…" she said almost silently. I waited. "That song…that was our song. He played it for me on the guitar the night he told me he loved me. That was the song we first danced to. That was our song…" she choked. I didn't have to ask who 'he' was. It was too obvious.

"I'm so sorry, Leah. I really am. I don't like it how much this is hurting you, I really don't. We can leave if you want. I'm sure Emily will understand." I waited for her response, expecting her to reject it, stand up, look in the mirror, and insult her looks, but was surprised when she said.

"You'll leave with me, will you Jake?" I nodded automatically. We stood, and she saw herself in a mirror across the room.

"Ugh! I'm a mess. This is so embarrassing." Even with her makeup smudged, her hair a disarray, and her dress wrinkled and dented, she looked beautiful, to me at least. Angelic, almost. The only other person I could think of that could look this beautiful while she cried was…well, no one. Bella had come close, but she wasn't near as…angelic as Leah was right now.

"I'm the only one here, Leah. No need to be embarrassed." She smiled gratefully.

"Right, it's just you, Jake." For some reason, this comment stung. It was just me, just Jacob. That's all I'd ever been. The same with Bella. Not quite a Cullen, but good enough for her. And that worked for me. To be enough for her to love. This time, I wasn't quite a Uley, but good enough for Leah to be around. This one bugged me more. I didn't know exactly why. Maybe it was because we were both werewolves. Maybe it was because I didn't love Leah as much, so I could worry about being the best. I could never love Leah…could I?

I had to stop thinking about this. We were going to phase soon, and Leah would know the inner deepest parts of my mind. God, this pack mind thing could really be just the biggest pain in the ass. Everything you wanted to keep a secret, just on display for everyone else to see and react to. It was beyond irritating.

I was almost surprised when Leah slipped her dress over her head, but not really. Seeing each other naked was something you had to get used to as a werewolf, and even though it was different with Leah, I figured that if she was fine with it, I should be too. I started folding the tux neatly. It was a rental that had to be returned to Sam in the morning. I struggled to get my tie off. This stupid bow tie had been bugging me all day .She laughed, and walked over to help me. I was surprised when my heart sped up erratically as her naked body was so close to mine.

"A woman doing a man's work," she grinned. "Maybe I am a better wolf. I rolled my eyes playfully, but it was true. I was better. I was practically alpha, though I didn't want to be.

"We'll see about that," she joked. "Race you." Leah phased, the familiar shimmering sound of someone phasing sounded exactly right as she gracefully leaped into her new gray body. I phased along with her, and we sped off. Leah was significantly faster than me, though she made sure not to get too far away from me. I was having fun, running in silence like this. I saw that Leah was really enjoying my company, she was happier with me here with her than she was at the wedding.

_Let's take a break_ she said, slowing to a trot as we entered a clearing. She sat down in the grass, and lay on her stomach. I plopped down beside her.

_Thanks, Jake. Again. For doing this for me. You didn't have to. _But I did, for some reason, I couldn't just leave her. I had to make sure that she was okay.

_Wow, that's...a change. A few days ago you told me that you hated me._

_A few days ago I didn't know who you were._

_You think you do now?_

_I think so._

_Then who am I? Because I have no idea anymore._

_Leah, you're not that bad, okay? Once you let your guard down, you're cool to be around. I would hang out with you if you just chilled out every once in a while. Not _everyone _is out to get you, you know._

_I guess. It's just that...I don't know._

_It's true Leah. I heard Jared thinking about it the other day. He was thinking if you just relaxed than you'd be...better._

_Jared's kinda cool...I guess._

_Better than most of them. _It was true. Out of all of them, besides Embry and Quil...maybe Seth, I enjoyed spending time with Jared. But it wasn't Jared that I wanted to talk about, not really.

_Leah...I heard what Sam said to you before. At the ceremony._

_Oh..._

_It wasn't nice. I don't really think he thought it through before he did it._

_Okay..._but her thoughts said much more than that. She was grieving over it.

_That's not the word I would use. _Joking, now. I could never keep up with her. But that was just Leah. No one could keep up with her.

**Okay, that kind of sucked for Jacob's point of view. I've done so much better with his perspective, but this one was seriously hard to write. Anyway, I know it's quicker than usual, but it's good for you...I think. I got kind of carried away when I started to write it, I was having fun, but I got a serious case of writer's block. I sat at the computer for two whole hours and I wrote nothing of value. Now I'm rambling. Back to Leah for the next chapter. I'm sure to lose readers if I continue with Jacob. Anyway, review, **_**PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!**_


	5. He loves me, he loves me not

_We should get back, the party should be almost over. You don't want your mom to freak out, do you?_ Jacob thought. I rumbled a laugh. He was right. I stood, and waited for him to follow me as I made my way back to where we had left our clothes. I tried not to think of anything in particular. So I focused on that.

_Keeping me out?_ He asked jokingly. I looked over and smiled. He smiled back.

I saw our clothes in a small heap by a tree that I had run my nails through so I would know that this was ours. The pile of bubble gum pink was hard to miss though, even in the dark. I would have to talk to Emily about that later.

I phased back into my human form, and slipped the silk over my head. There he was fumbling with the bow tie again.

"You have issues with formal wear," I laughed, walking over to tie it for him. "Once I did it for Seth once, he could do it by himself." He laughed his husky laugh.

"I'm just not that gifted, I guess," he sighed fake-sadly. I giggled. It only took us seconds to get back to the party, and I beat him again, even in four-and-a-half inch stilettos. Jacob was right, the last of the people were just leaving. We walked in, and my mother sighed in relief to see me all in one piece. Billy was there too, waiting for Jacob, but he didn't look at all concerned. He had no reason to think his son was suicidal. Emily was the first to reach me.

"Oh my gosh, Leah. I'm so sorry I've been so worried about you!"

"I'm fine, Em. It's okay."

"Yeah, because Jacob was there to save you," she mumbled under her breath. She should've known that I would hear.

"Shut up," was the best I could come up with.

"Fine, whatever. You know it's true." I just turned away from her. My mom was standing next to me.

"Let's go home. It's been a long day," she said. I nodded quickly. I needed to go home, clear my head, and get a good, long sleep.

"Where's Seth?" I asked.

"He volunteered to run patrols for Sam tonight," she paused. "Seeing as though he won't be here for three weeks, everyone's gonna have to take over at some point."

"He's leaving for three weeks? Why!?"

"They are going on a honeymoon, Leah. He isn't going to stay for the pack. He just got married. He offered to stay, but Paul, Jared, Quil, Embry, Collin, and Seth told him to go." I growled quietly under my breath.

"Leah," my mother said soothingly. I took several deep breaths. "Let's go to the car." I nodded, I told Emily good night and to have fun on their honeymoon-I really didn't care where they were going, avoided Sam as I walked out, and did the best I could to wait patiently for my mother. As she got in the car, I fumbled with my seatbelt.

"Jacob Black is a pretty nice person, Leah," my mother said as she pulled out.

"Um, yeah, he was a great friend to me today," I murmured awkwardly. It was silent for a few minutes.

"He was really going out of his way to help you today," she commented.

"Yeah, I guess he was," I replied, staring out the window. If this conversation was anything like Emily's I swear I was going to scream. I watched the shapes my breath made on the cold window, and listened to the rain, trying to calm myself.

"Nice kid," she said again. I hissed, my lips pulling back over my teeth.

"Mom, what are you trying to say?" I asked angrily, even though I already knew the answer.

"I'm just saying if there was something going on between you and Jacob that I wouldn't mind."

I exhaled, irritated now. My mother looked at me now, confused, worried, and kind of angry, or that's how I saw it.

"Is there anything wrong with being friends with Jacob? Seriously? Is that so shocking?" I asked, and opened the car door as soon as we were at the house. I ran into my room. I didn't know why I was so emotional right now. Maybe it was PMS. Oh, right. I didn't have that issue to deal with anymore. I would have thought that this was a plus of being a werewolf a few weeks ago. Until I realized I couldn't get pregnant until I stopped phasing, which could take centuries. Why did god hate me? Seriously? What did I do wrong?

But I couldn't focus on that right now. I had to focus on Jacob, and how everybody thought we were a couple just because we'd hung out today. Jacob had been the best friend I'd had in a long time, and it was hard to imagine not phasing sooner if it weren't for him. It was way out of character. What would happen after the wedding? Would he go back to hating me again? Was Sam paying him to do this? Oh god, what if he was. I didn't think I could've handled either one, so I stopped thinking about it.

"Ugh!!!I groaned as I noticed a blinking red light in the corner of my eye. It was the voicemail icon that blinked when I had a message. Who could possibly want to talk to me right now? I stomped over to the phone and dialed my voicemail.

"Hey, Leah, it's Emily. I just wanted to see how you were doing, and I want to thank you again for being there for me through this entire thing. I know it wasn't easy for you, but you stuck by me, and didn't let me down. Your speech was beautiful, I think every woman in the room were wiping their eyes by the end of it, and maybe some of the men, too.. I think I saw Paul sniffling." she giggled. "Oh, that's our flight to England, but call me and leave a message. I love you. Talk to you later." I slammed the phone down hard, and it shattered. Dammit, I'd have to pay for that too. Damn this inhuman strength. I noticed the light blinking again. Another message? What the hell?

"Hey Leah, it's just me, Jake calling to see how you were doing. Jared called and told me that you, me, and Quil were up for patrols at three A.M. I know it sucks. But I'll see you there. Call me when you get the chance." I hung up, unsure if I wanted to call him or not. But I figured if I didn't, I'd probably burst into tears, and there wasn't anybody else that I really wanted and/or could talk to.

"Hello?" Billy picked up, damn.

"Um, hey Billy, it's Leah Clearwater."

"Well, hello Leah. Can I help you with something?"

"Can you put Jacob on the phone?" I asked. There was a slight pause.

"Jake! Phone!" there was the sound of somebody running down the stairs, "its Leah."

"Hey, Leah!" he sounded excited that I called him.

"You called me?"

"Yeah, I wanted to check on you. How are you doing?"

"Is Sam paying you to do this?" I demanded. There had to be some other reason besides Jake wanting to help me.

"No," he sounded hurt that I would come to such a conclusion. "I want to help you Leah. You're my friend."

"Okay, just checking. I wanted a reason to be able to be mad at him. A legit reason."

"I think you have reason enough." Silence. I didn't know what to say.

"Thanks, Jacob."  
"Other than that, how are you doing?"

"Fine, can't believe he's leaving for an entire three weeks though. It's unlike him to just take off like that."

"Leah, I know you don't like him, but you have to admit, he deserves it. He works so hard for us, he deserves a break. This'll make up for everything." Shit, it sounded like he was a Sam groupie again.

"Alright, Jake, well I'm going to go to bed. I want some sleep. See you at three o'clock."

"I'll wake you up. Listen for my howl."

"Okay…" then I hung up. So Sam wasn't paying him. God, maybe he was really nice and wanted to help me. Why was I so stupid not to see that?

It was then I realized I was really, really, tired. I flopped down on the bed, not bothering to change my clothes, and didn't move until three o' clock in the morning.

I jumped awake at the sound of Jacob's howl. I had known to expect it, and yet every time he howled, well, anytime anyone howled, I always jumped. It was half because it always scared me, and half because I knew I was capable of making that sound too, I just hardly ever did because it depressed me even more.

I stood up, and realized I was still in my dress from the night before. I noticed a huge rip on either side of the dress, creating slits six inches up my thigh. I must have been thrashing in my sleep again. Oh well, the dress was ugly anyway. I walked outside, and saw Jacob in his wolf form, hidden in the trees. I smiled at him, and he smiled back. Smiled as well as a wolf could. I phased, destroying the dress. I laughed, so did Jacob.

_How did you sleep?_ He asked.

_Okay, I guess. Been having weird nightmares lately, but other than that I slept fine. I was so tired._

_Me too. Takes a lot of energy to keep up with you, Clearwater._

_Oh, really, then let's see how many times I can lap you. You're going down, Black._

_You're on! _I picked up speed, darting through the woods; I completed a full circle in less than two minutes, a new record. Soon enough, I was coming up behind him, and gaining fast. As I past, I jumped on his back. It was kind of a risky move, but something that resembled a laugh rumbled from his chest, and he let out a bark. He fell to the ground.

_Got ya. _I said, rolling off of him, and standing up.

_You're fast. I'll give you that, _he thought.

_Faster than you. _I challenged.

_Well, not rea-__…__yeah__…_ I laughed. Jacob was so fun to be around. We both heard somebody phase, and we both were confused.

_Was somebody else supposed to be on patrol with us? _I asked.

_Dammit, I forgot about Quil._ This was strange. Why was Jacob so upset that Quil was coming? He and Quil were best friends. Did that mean that he was mad that he didn't get any alone time with me? I stopped my thoughts short, abruptly switching to think about something else. If Jacob had been paying attention, he didn't acknowledge it.

_Can you guys handle the patrol on your own? I have some things to do._ I hadn't really thought about leaving, but I really wanted to freely think with privacy.

_Sure, I think we can handle it. _Jacob said.

_Yeah, we don't really need three wolves on patrol. G o ahead Leah, _Quil said. I phased quickly as I shot like a comet back to my house. The last thing I heard of their thoughts was Jacob admiring my speed. I breezed up to my room, and put on a pair of mesh basketball shorts and a beater tank top. I sat on my bed. I had a lot on my mind to sift through. The first thing that I had to think about was Jacob, which divided off into many other subcategories. The first was if he truly felt something more about me than friendship. If he did, that would change everything. I wasn't sure if I was ready for such a big change.

The second was if I returned those feelings for him. If I did, that could be risky. I had let myself fall in love once, and look how everything turned out. Jacob could still imprint, and if he did, well, I was pretty much screwed if I let things go any farther than this with him. If I let myself feel anything more than friendship, everything I had built for myself over the past couple of years would be destroyed. I would start down that endless downward spiral that I had recently started to recover from. Was I strong enough to pull myself out of it again? But also, Jacob and I could be happy together; really, we could if we tried hard enough. There would be bumps in the road, but if we were strong enough to overcome those bumps, than we would be happy. Then came what everyone else thought of it. How would the pack respond? How would my mother respond? Most importantly, how would Sam respond? Would he be happy for us? Jealous? The possibilities were endless and unpredictable. I really didn't know how I felt about him, and if I took this any farther, it was impossible to predict how things would turn out. The only one I knew who could see the future…I seriously considered talking to the fortune telling bloodsucker, Alice. Wait, I hated her, and she couldn't see our future. Maybe that was a good thing, maybe it wasn't.

I flopped back down on the bed. Why was my life so freaking complicated?

**Okay guys, I know that these are coming out pretty quickly, and you might like that, but the reason for it is I'm getting really excited about this series. Alright, I need your opinion on things, and it comes in the form of questions.**

**Should the Cullens be in the story?**

**If so, should Nessie be in the story? (Jake wouldn't have imprinted on her)**

**Should Leah make friends with some of them?**

**These are all questions that I can't decide, so I'm leaving it up to you. Review and tell me what you think!!!!!**


	6. The Cullens

"I'm going to visit the Cullens today. Do you want to come?" Jacob asked. I frowned. Being a werewolf, I wasn't exactly comfortable being around vampires. Even worse, the smell. But still, if he wanted me to come, I might as well. Jacob's relationship with that weirdly-named mutant spawn (A.K.A. Renesmee) was actually kind of cute. It wasn't imprinting- thank God; that would bring us up to a total of five imprints- but it was more like an older brother. She called him Uncle Jacob, and the few times that I had shown up human, she had called me Aunt Leah.

I didn't really have a problem with Nessie (Renesmee was too much of a mouthful, and Bella growled at me when I called her spawn). Once you got past the half-vampire, almost caused us to get killed by those Italian leeches, and all the other bad stuff she made happen, she was just a rapidly growing two year old that looked like she was seven. Wow, that sounded really bad, but seriously, she wasn't the worst person to be around. I swear I couldn't stand the brat sometimes, though. Usually, I had big problems with kids. I just didn't like them. I put on a brave face with Nessie. Plus, she smelled a lot better than the rest of them.

"Sure, what do I have to lose? Except the privacy of my own mind," I said jokingly, remembering Edward, the mind reading bloodsucker. Could I ever think in peace anymore? I doubted it. Jacob laughed.

"You get used to it after a while," he reminded me.

"You're used to it?" I asked, unconvinced.

"Well, yeah it's pretty annoying when he responds to what you think as opposed to what you say, but other than that, yeah I'm pretty used to it," I raised my eyebrows, but let it go.

We both winced as a rush of the sickly sweet vampire smell crashed over us.

"I don't think I'm ever getting used to that," I said, breathing through my mouth, which didn't do any good, altering my voice. Jacob laughed. We both fell silent as we listened, wondering if they heard our approach. Damn those stinking leeches for talking so fast. The only words I could really understand was my own name, and Jacob's, of course. A familiar booming laugh sounded- the big one, Emmett.

He parked the car and got up, and we walked up to the front steps together. Jacob just walked through the door without bothering to knock, which almost surprised me, but didn't. I walked behind him, sort of nervous for some reason I couldn't figure out.

"Uncle Jake! Aunt Leah!"Nessie squealed. She ran over and hugged our waists.

"Oof!" I said, getting the wind knocked out of me as she crashed into me."Wow, Nessie. You're getting real big." I laughed humorlessly. I still couldn't stand kids. No matter how mentally mature they were. She looked about ten years old.

"Renesmee, what did we talk about? You have to be careful, okay? Leah and Jake are a lot more breakable than you are," Bella said. I glanced over to where her voice was coming from. She was sitting on the couch, holding hands with her 'mate' Edward. Geez, did they always have to be touching. Could they go two seconds being apart?

Edward snorted, and I realized he was laughing at my thoughts. Wow, Jake was right. That _is_ annoying. He laughed again.

"Glad I'm amusing you, _Edward_," I refrained from calling him bloodsucker, so his name came out through my teeth. He chuckled out loud this time.

"Hey Lee Lee, glad you finally came back!" Emmett said teasingly. 'We could use some new female company around here." Rosalie slapped him. I blushed. I felt the heat come to my face...was I seriously blushing? I looked over towards Jacob, avoiding Emmett's teasing stare, but Jake had a mixed emotion on his face that was hard to understand. He looked angry…like he wanted to punch Emmett, he looked amused, and he looked almost...was that jealousy? Oh my god. Holy crap. Edward was laughing again. How did you live with someone that?

"It's so funny how similar your thoughts are to Jacob's. He thought the same thing about me a few months ago," he remarked. I gave him a fake smile, and sat down on the couch across from them. "And you're on the right track in other places, too," he added. What the hell did that mean? Did he always talk like this? Did he do it on purpose just to annoy me? Oh my god, what if he meant that I was right about the whole Jake thing? I looked over at him, he nodded. I widened my eyes. He laughed. But it wasn't funny. It really wasn't. Wow, I was overreacting. I joined in Edward's laughter. It was odd, but Edward seemed just as sarcastic and witty as me. We could probably be friends if you shoved us together, but obviously, we didn't want to be friends, so it could never happen.

"So, Leah? What's been going on? Anything interesting?" Emmett asked. I knew from his tone that he implied something gross.

"Emmett, I'm not sure what you mean by interesting, but I'm sure it's something unpleasant and really not a topic that I'm going to enjoy discussing with you, so I'm just going to ignore that."

"Wow, Emmett. She's been in the room for less than five minutes, and she's already got you pegged." Bella muttered. Everyone laughed, including me. Well, almost everyone laughed, Rosalie was staring at me with eyes that really did frighten me. If I hated any of these leeches, I hated Blondie the most. Even if I did understand what she was going through a few months ago when Bella was pregnant with Nessie.

"Well, I see the werewolves are here, seeing as though my vision was just wiped out," Alice, the little one, was coming down the stairs. Alice didn't annoy me, but her voice did. So high pitched and...I guess trilling would be a good way to put it. Then, she was so incredibly short. I envied short girls so much. Tall girls, like me, could not be considered "cute" like Alice could. The blond one who always made everyone feel so calm...what was his name...oh yeah, Jasper, followed close behind her. Surprise, surprise. He followed her wherever she went.

"Leah, Jacob, how are you?" Esme, the 'mother' of this coven of leeches came in the room. Esme was so sweet; it was hard to be around her at times. I had a low tolerance for sweet. I had a hard time stomaching it. Edward for some reason was concentrating very hard on me. I guess he was reading my reactions to his family as they came in the room. The way he stared at me was very...intimate; I guess that's one way to put it. His strange golden eyes were swimming with an intense focus. Bella stared at me after a few seconds, and her stare was not friendly. After a few more seconds, she slapped Edward on the arm. He snapped out of it, but didn't apologize to her. That seemed to make her mad. She sat back on the couch, defeated.

"Your mind is so interesting, Leah," he commented. "You think about things very...differently than others see them, it's like if the rest of the world perceives something one way, you see it totally and amazingly different."

"Um, thank you...sort of," I said. What he had said was so strange and aloof, that I didn't know what to say, I didn't know if it was a compliment or not.

"You are sort of welcome," he said. He flashed me a brilliant white smile, and winked. Bella hissed. Jacob growled. What the hell was going on here? He laughed, yet again, at that thought.

"Get out of my head," I mumbled quietly to myself. I guess my bitterness was the end of the conversation. There was a long, awkward silence. I felt like getting up and running out of the room, I was resisting the urge to do just that. I looked up to find Bella's glare. I instantly looked away, and I heard her low growl.

"Leah, Jacob, are you hungry? I can get you something to eat," Esme offered, breaking the silence. I smiled gratefully at her.

"That would be amazing, Esme. I haven't had breakfast yet," I said, she smiled widely that I was finally accepting her gifts.

"Thanks Esme," Jacob muttered his voice distant. She breezed into the kitchen, and I could smell eggs, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, bacon…all coming from the kitchen just minutes later. I suddenly realized that I was starving. When she brought in two plates, one for Jacob, one for me, I devoured so much food. I saw Bella and Rosalie watch in disgust as I stuffed as much food as I possibly could into my mouth.

"Leah," Alice said as Esme took my plate when I finished. "Do you need some clothes? I know how when you phase unexpectedly, you tend to lose your clothes. We have tons of extras, and if you need some, than feel free to just ask."

"Thanks, Alice. That's very kind of you," I said, and as I thought about it, it would be nice to have some nicer clothes. I owned mostly boys basketball shorts and white tank tops, and some days maybe I'd like to dress like a girl. "I could actually use some clothes, if it's not too much to ask."

"Of course not," Alice said, jumping to her feet. "Come on upstairs, I'll show you." I got to my feet and followed her up the stairs to her bedroom. We walked across the huge room, and I wondered why someone who never sleeps needs such a huge bed. I could only imagine. She opened up a set of double doors, and continued into a disproportional closet that had to almost be the size of the room behind me.

"Feel free to pick out anything you want. I'll wash it, or have Nessie wash it, so they smell a little better. But, take anything you want, we've got plenty of clothes for everyone." As I searched, I decided to make conversation with her.

"So are you like the personal shopper of the family or something?" I asked, looking up at her as I sifted through piles and piles of expensive designer clothing. She smiled.

"Me and Rose kind of split the job, but yeah, I guess you could say that. I can't get Bella into anything nice ever though, she prefers jeans and a t-shirt. It drives me nuts!" she complained. I laughed, and looked down at my sweatpants and baggy t-shirts. I was probably driving her nuts, as well. "So, what's going on with you an d Jacob?" she asked, smiling.

"Nothing! Why is everyone saying that?" I asked, frustrated. She rose her eyebrows in surprise.

"Really? Nothing? I was just assuming seeing as though the way he looked at you, and the way he was acting all jealous when Emmett was 'flirting' with you." She put air quotes around the words flirting.

"Nope, nothing, though Edward seems pretty convinced that Jacob wishes otherwise," I mumbled. I found it weird that I could just openly talk, comfortably to a vampire like this. Though being friends with Alice didn't seem like a difficult thing to do. She was just so nice, and funny, and outgoing.

"I think this color would look good on you," Alice said, holding up a royal blue sundress, and for the next hour, we talked about clothes, and I tried things on. I came back down the stairs with a bag of clothes slung over my shoulder. Alice and I were laughing, and I was pretty sure that we were going to be friends. I saw Edward, Emmett, and Jacob smile as I came back down the stairs with Alice.

Emmett, because I knew that he wanted to insult me more, Jacob because he probably wanted to leave, and Edward...I still had no idea.

"Leah, are you ready to leave?" Jacob asked as I finished descending the staircase.

"Yeah, I guess, are you?" He nodded, and I turned to Alice to thank her.

"You have to come back soon, okay?" she asked.

"We would really enjoy your company, Leah," Edward added from across the room. Emmett laughed.

"Yeah, sure, I'll come back when I can," I said. "Bye everyone. See you soon." He held the door for me. I walked out, and Jacob closed the door behind him.

I knew that we were going to have to talk. Now. We had to discuss our feelings for each other, and if they were the same thing. Somewhere deep down, I knew that I loved Jacob Black. I knew that now. I reviewed the past couple of days to prove it. We were really comfortable around each other, and it seemed we didn't have any secrets anymore. He was there for me at the wedding when no one else was, and continued to stick by me for the next week. I had depended on him so much for support, and he didn't ask for anything in return. Jacob had given me something that I hadn't had in years. He gave me a friend, and in the past week, we had blurred the line of friendship, and I didn't even know what we were now. I needed to know though. Was I ready to love again? I knew that I wasn't fully healed from previous wounds. I couldn't be so sure that I was ready. It was impossible to know. Was loving Jacob worth the risk of getting hurt again? I didn't think I would be able to stand it if he imprinted and left me, but I knew that a part of me needed a claim on him. A claim that was more than just a friend. As if on cue, Jacob spoke.

"Leah, I have a confession to make."

**Another cliffhanger...haha, I just love doing that. Thank you for all the suggestions that I received in the comments. It was so helpful, and I really used it to guide me through this. This chapter I think is more funny than it is for Blackwater, but it really does get the plot moving. I love you guys. Please REVIEW!!!**


	7. That's Just Perfect Another One

"I have a confession to make," he repeated. I nodded.

"Jacob, you said that already. We're friends; we can tell each other anything, right?" I asked, hoping the answer was yes. He nodded stiffly. His hands clutched the steering wheel so hard, that the russet color was turning white.

"Never mind," he exhaled in a large gust.

"Jake, is everything okay?" I asked, nervous now.

"I said never mind!" he said loudly and sharply. He was staring out the windshield ferociously. It scared me to see him like this. I had never seen him act like this before. His breath came in short pants, his large hands grabbed at the wheel harder now if that were possible, and his black eyes had a wild fire spark that I realized I never wanted to see again in him. His arms trembled violently, taking the place of his restrained hands. A shudder rippled up his spine, and I knew he knew I knew that it was not from the cold.

"Jake?" I asked hesitantly. He didn't respond. I surrendered, slumping back against the seat. He would talk to me about whatever he wanted to talk about when he was ready. Except the thing was, I knew what he wanted to talk about, and I knew I still wasn't ready. I still wasn't sure of how I felt, if I felt anything at all. I looked at the windows, and watched the trees and houses whip by in perfect detail thanks to my super strong wolfy vision.

"Whoa. Easy on the gas, Jake," I warned, eyeing the miles per hour gauge. We were nearing 80. The speed limit in La Push was 15 in residential areas. Once I reminded him of how fast, he lifted the pedal down to 40. That was better than before. I touched his shoulder.

"Jake," I said, trying to get my voice to be a soothing as possible. His muscles seemed to relax at my touch. I held my hand there for a while, then slowly removed it. He didn't move. I jerked my head back to the window when I saw Jacob's small red house fly by us.

"Um, Jake, I think you missed the turn," I remarked quietly just in case he was going to blow up again.

"I'm not taking you to my house," he grumbled as he turned off the street.

"Are we going to my house?" I asked, feeling extremely awkward not knowing where he was taking me.

"No." That was all he said, and I was too frightened to question him. We sat in silence for the rest of the trip to who-knows-where. I saw the 40 miles per hour speed was not enough for Jake, and I squeezed my eyes shut. He saw this, but didn't slow. It could have been hours, or it could have been minutes, but suddenly the car came to a quick halt. I opened my eyes, but Jake was already out of the car. I opened the door, and saw that he was sitting on a boulder a few yards away from the street. I walked to the spot where he was. His shirt was on the ground beside the rock. I was suddenly self conscious in my cotton shorts and tank top. I sat beside him on the boulder. He didn't speak for a few minutes, and neither did I.

"Sorry about that," he said. He sounded so much more relaxed now.

"It's okay," I sighed, just relieved that this mood was over.

'I have a confession to make," he said for the third time that day.

"Are you really going to tell me now, or should I run for the car while I still can?" I asked. A small part of the question was serious.

"Sorry," he apologized again.

"No problem, Jake. You should tell me what you have to tell me before you freak out again," I said. Again, I was only half kidding. But I was suddenly anxious for what he had to say, because I was realizing that I loved Jacob Black. We had seen each other at our best, and we had seen each other at our worst. I had seen Jacob vulnerable, and he had seen me that way too. I wanted Jacob. I needed him. No one else understood the way I felt about almost everything as much as he did.

I knew, right then and there, that Jacob would be there for me through thick and thin. He was very determined, and when there was something he wanted, well, god Dammit he was going to get it. Jacob wanted me happy. And if was the one to make me happy, he was going to do it. He would be there for me, and I would do my best to be there for him. I knew that I loved him the second I saw that tortured expression he wore in the car. I knew that I never wanted to see that face on his again. I never wanted to see Jacob in that much agony as he just was. So no matter what he said right now, good or bad, I loved him. I wouldn't leave his side. I wouldn't be bitchy Leah anymore (no pun intended.) I would be the girl that Jacob wanted me to be. I would be everything that Jacob needed, even if he didn't know he needed it. I would be a faithful friend, and a faithful lover, if that was what he wanted. Jacob was my world. He was everything, and even though I didn't know if he felt the same way yet, I knew that I wouldn't love anyone else the way I felt about Jake right now. I had said that about Sam Uley, but everything had changed since the day that Sam told me he loved me. I wasn't the same girl. I wasn't the same Leah. I wasn't Sam's Leah. Now I was Jacob's Leah. Even if he wasn't Leah's Jacob. That's when I felt it. Gravity had shifted.

**Dun dun dun dun...haha!! Cliff hanger!! I know it's kind of short, but this was the best place for this to end. Please review, I really, really appreciate all the support you guys have given me. Check out my Twilight poetry. It hasn't gotten much love. So...more of the Cullens in the next chapter. I got lots of comments about Edward's interest in Leah, and I think some of you may be pleasantly surprised about where this takes the plot. So...tell me:**

**What you thought**

**Why you thought it**

**Comments**

**And any suggestions?**

**I'm thinking about changing the name. I'm going to make this a contest. The reviewer who comes up with the name I like best will be featured as a supporting character in the story. That means name, looks, ect. Good luck!!!**


	8. Glad I Got That Off My Chest

I waited eagerly, impatient now for him to speak. He opened his mouth, and then snapped it closed again, as if deciding what he was going to say. On a normal day, this would have frustrated me, but today was not a normal day. A new wave of patience washed through me, and I knew in my heart that it was only for Jacob.

I knew this was imprinting…it had to be. I had heard all the stories about how it felt, and this matched every single one. I've heard all the imprinted people's thoughts to know how they saw their 'imprintees'. This was it. It had to be.

The emotions were one thing…but science was another. The evidence just didn't add up. I was a girl wolf. My body couldn't change. Sam said that imprinting was caused by choosing the person that you had the most chance of passing the wolf gene with on to your kids. But I couldn't pass the wolf gene. I wasn't supposed to imprint! I never wanted that! I hated imprinting! But now that I had done the impossible, I was glad I had.

"I have a confession to make," he said, yet again. I laughed lightly, and held myself back from stroking his face tenderly.

"I realize that, Jake," I said, giggling. "So, what is it? Spill." He knit his eyebrows together, probably from my drastic change of mood.

"Don't hit me," he warned, glancing quickly at my face, and I wondered what he saw. Probably love. Adoration. Passion. Whatever it was made him smile. That smile could break my heart. I had never seen it before now. So heart melting, it made me slap my hand to my chest. As if I could ever hit him. As if I could ever touch him in a way that didn't express the uncontrollable feelings I felt toward him. He gave me a quick, confused look, and then looked at his hands again. "I think I imprinted." I smiled at this news. Whatever made him happy, I was okay with.

"On who?" I asked in a casual tone. I didn't want to force him. He blushed. I didn't think I'd ever seen Jacob blush. To anyone. The reddening of his face did strange things to his copper skin tone.

"What is it?" I asked. He mumbled something that I couldn't understand.

"What? I couldn't hear you, Jake," he blushed even redder.

"I imprinted on you, Leah," he said, and his mood changed surprisingly fast. He sounded proud. I looked up to meet his eyes. They were bright with anticipation about what I would say. I was so overwhelmingly happy that this was it. I was his, and he was mine. We could be happy. Together. Forever. That thought took me, and I started crying. Jacob's hands cupped my cheeks and wiped the tears before they could fall. His touch did such amazing things to my body that I couldn't force the words out. I was babbling on, spitting out things that didn't make sense. I was finally able to manage saying what I wanted.

"Jake, I imprinted too," I said. His face fell, and I frowned as well. We were so in tune with our emotions now. Everything I felt, he felt too, and everything he felt, zinged through my body like an electric current. This was imprinting times a million. This was a double imprint. Something so strong, our legends could not have prepared us for the emotions that swirled through us like a vortex.

"On who?" he choked out, and I realized his hand fell from my face. The spot where his hand had been still tingled with a ghost of the previous sensation. I lifted his hand to my chest so he could feel the erratic pounding of my heart as I said the fateful words.

"I imprinted on you, Jacob Black," I said, and he stared into my eyes, realizing I didn't need his touch for the zinging sensation to take me anymore. Without warning, Jake pulled me into his arms, and kissed me. The kiss was too violent, wet, and sloppy to be considered romantic, but it worked for me. Anything he ever said or did would always work for me.

"You don't know how long I have been waiting to tell you that," he murmured into my neck, kissing me lightly there.

"Jake, when exactly did you imprint on me?" I asked, and he pulled back, but his hand still lingered on the small of my back. He didn't look me in the eyes, but it seemed he couldn't not answer me.

"The night before the wedding," he said his voice cracking. My eyebrows pushed together in confusion. That didn't make any sense. I had seen Jake almost every day for the past two years, and imprinting was supposed to occur the instant you saw them. Jake seemed to sense my confusion, and started to comfort me.

"I don't know why it took so long, but it's definitely imprinting. I can't seem to stay away from you," he said, kissing my forehead. I was relieved that it wasn't just a sudden crush from seeing me naked that had gotten into him.

"I can't stay away from you, either Jake," I said quietly. His laugh was muffled by his lips being pressed to my jaw.

"When did it happen for you?" he asked, suddenly urgent.

"Five minutes ago," I admitted bleakly. He smiled.

"Leah, Leah, Leah," he said, ruffling my hair.

"Does anyone else besides me know?" I asked nervously. He shook his head.

"I've been keeping my mind from everyone except you for the past couple of days," he said. "I think I slipped a little the other day, so Paul may have a clue…" he trailed off when my eyes darken with fear. He looked confused, then anxious. "What's wrong?"

"Paul?" I asked my voice breaking.

"Yeah, Paul. Leah, what's the problem? What do you need?"

"Nothing, Jake, it's nothing. I just…Paul is less careful about his thoughts than you are. I would've thought that you would've rather told Sam yourself than have him hear Paul thinking about it…" he interrupted me.

"I said Paul might have a clue. But I don't really think he thought anything of it, Paul's unbelievably oblivious to everything," he comforted me. "But it might be a good idea to tell Sam before anyone else can." I nodded, but didn't move.

"It's okay if you don't want to, Leah. I'll understand," he said.

"What do you want to do, Jake?" I asked, he shook his head.

"I want what you want," he said.

"Well I want what you want," I said. We stood there for a second, laughing.

"Let's just say we want the same thing," I suggested. He nodded.

"If we want the same thing, what do we want?" he asked.

"I think we want to tell Sam. And Emily. And my mom. And your dad. And my brother," I winced at the list of people we had to get through. "And the Cullens," I said. He looked at me, one eyebrow raised.

"What, maybe it'll get that Bella girl to stop thinking that Edward was hitting on me," I shuddered at the thought. Me being with a leech? But the way Edward had treated me made me feel really…important, special. He treated me like he was interested in what I had to say. I shook my head violently. All that had been before I'd imprinted. Things were totally different now, and Edward and I could be friends. I smiled at the thought, not entirely sure why.

"Let's go then," he said. "We've got a big list of people to get through."

**And end scene! I know it was kind of cheesy and Jake was kind of out of character, but for now, I don't care. I thought it was sweet. I know I promised Cullens, but I couldn't make it short and include the Cullens. Most likely in the next chapter, okay? **

**Remember the title contest I talked about last chapter? I've seen a few suggestions that were good, but nothing has really caught my eye. Keep sending them in, and you know the prize!**

**Please review! Check out Twilight Poetry!! **


	9. So Many Surprises

I would've thought that telling people about me and Jake would only get easier, but it was the exact opposite. He drove me to his house first, where my mom had been hanging around lately. It was easy to see that neither one of them minded that much. My mom was ecstatic and I heard her whisper a thank you in Jacob's ear. Billy smiled at me in approval. So all was good there. I was happy that at least the people on one side of our lives wouldn't give us a hard time, but I knew as we drove up to Emily's little cottage that things were only going to get more complicated from there. I tried to breathe evenly as we got out of the car.

"Its okay, Leah. You're not guilty for anything," Jacob said, brushing my hair out of my face. He kissed my forehead lightly, and then took my hand as we ascended the steps. Jacob opened the door for me, and I entered Emily's kitchen. All eight of the other werewolves plus imprints sat at Emily's enormous kitchen table. It must have been a wedding gift because it seemed ten times bigger. Everyone had a seat, and everyone seemed comfortable enough. When Emily saw me, she dropped the pot she was holding which landed with a clatter to the tiled floors, and threw her arms around me.

"Leah!" she screamed. "Oh my gosh it's so good to see you! I thought you were mad at me!" she pulled back from the hug.

"Nope, not mad at all," I said, and my voice didn't betray my emotions, which pleased me. I glanced over at Jacob. He wasn't looking at me, so I followed his gaze over to Paul's eyes. It seemed as though they were having a silent exchange. Jacob's face looked upset. I frowned. So Paul did know.

"Hey, Leah, hey Jake" Seth said. He said, his gaze wandering. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and zeroed in on Jacob and my hands that were intertwined. I ignored it. He'd find out soon enough.

"Emily, can I talk to you alone? Maybe we can take a walk?" I suggested gesturing towards the door. She nodded happily. She slipped on a pair of flip flops, and grabbed a jacket. She took my hand, and we walked down her driveway and along a path for a while in silence. I was thinking about how to say what I needed to say. She seemed to be thinking about something too.

"I have some news," we both said simultaneously. I looked at her, and we giggled nervously.

"You can go," Emily told me, but I shook my head.

"No, you first," I encouraged, Emily hesitated, but agreed.

"Leah, I don't want you to be mad at me, okay? I don't think I could stand it if we were as bitter as we were before. I hope you're happy for me, but if you're not I completely understand," she said.

"Em, what's going on?" I asked. She paused again, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Leah, I'm pregnant!" she said, excitement burning through her sorry façade. I didn't respond at first. I dropped my hand from hers, and my muscles tensed. Instantly, I relaxed.

"Wow, Em. That's really…unexpected," I said, trying to find words that could make me sound nice, but having a hard time.

"Leah, I understand if you're angry with me…"

"No!" I cut her off. She looked at me, somewhat alarmed. "Emily, that's amazing. Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

"You're not mad?" she asked, scrutinizing my face, looking for the usual signs that I was lying. Dark eyes, tight smile, a slight flush in my cheeks, but apparently she saw nothing. I wasn't mad. If I didn't have Jacob, I would have been. I was really happy for her, and that was an extremely pleasant surprise. Of course I was ten shades of jealous.

"No, Em! That's amazing! How long? I mean how far along are you?" I asked, genuinely interested. I guessed that our friendship could be less tense than it was before.

"Only six weeks," she said, lovingly stroking her stomach. I did notice a tiny difference. If I didn't know any better I would've just assumed she'd gained weight. "It's hard to wrap my head around. I mean, there's a baby in there. A living, breathing, baby!" I nodded.

"Wow, pregnant," I mumbled. It was surprising, I guessed. I was preparing myself for it though. I looked at Emily. Her face, wounded and scarred was still extraordinarily beautiful. How was that possible? Her petite body, the slight bulge that was subtly noticeable jutting out from her hips. Her doomed half-smile. The most gorgeous thing I'd ever seen. Their baby would be beautiful. No doubt about it. If it was a girl, I hoped it would look just like Emily, minus the scars. I bet that's what they were hoping too.

Emily, caught up in her own news, completely forgot about me, and suggested that we get back and finish cooking dinner before the boys gave up and ordered pizza. Again.

When we got back into the house, I was kind of angry that I hadn't told Emily, but was totally distracted when Jacob's gaze settled on me as I walked into the room. I sat on the couch beside him at a safe distance, though I wished I could be much closer. Jacob was sitting alone, the rest of the werewolves were seated staring at him with angered eyes. I frowned at that. I wasn't that bad, was I? I scanned the table, noticing Seth was gone.

"Where is he?" I asked, whispering in Jacob's ear.

"He said he needed time to himself," Jacob said back, his warm breath caressing my neck.

"Did you tell Emily?" he asked. I hung my head. I was embarrassed that I hadn't told her.

"Don't worry, I'll do it," he assured me. "No big deal."

"I'm going to go talk to Seth," I said, starting to stand. Jacob stood with me, but I shoved him back onto the couch.

"I'll be fine," I laughed, and I could feel everyone's confused stares follow me out the door. I hadn't laughed whole-heartedly in a really long time. If the laugh wasn't sarcastic, they probably hadn't heard it.

I ran into the forest, trying to find where Seth might have left his clothes. I wandered until I found the remains of his white t-shirt that he had been wearing. A few feet farther, and I found a pair of destroyed jeans. I saw two white sneakers that he had saved before he phased. That was good. Mom couldn't afford another pair. I would know. I did all the money in this family to keep us from falling apart.

I took off my clothes, and phased quickly.

_Seth?_ I called in my head; I saw where he was immediately and ran to it.

_Lee?_

_Can I talk to you?_

_Maybe._

_I'm sorry, Seth._

_You have nothing to be sorry about, Lee_.

_Actually, yeah I do. I know that I haven't been the best sister ever since Sam left_ _me_...wow I could talk about that freely now. Everything I had grieved over before the imprint meant almost nothing now. _It's going to be weird for a while, Seth, but I know that we can get through this. It'll be strange, I admit, but I can't help it. I wish you could feel how I feel. It makes me happy that someday you will feel this way about someone._

_Lee?_

_Yeah?_

_I can hear your thoughts. I know how you feel. I'm happy for you._

_Seth, you can't feel something through someone's thoughts. Not something like this. I wish that you could experience this firsthand. It makes you so...happy. So...complete. It's like I'm not missing anything because I have everything I could ever want. And that's putting it lightly. I wish I could describe in a good way how I'm feeling, Seth, but I can't. I just can't. There are no words__…_

_I get it Leah. You love him. Whoop dee doo!_

_You don't get it, Seth. It's okay. Someday you will. I can't wait for that day. She'll be lucky._

He rolled his eyes.

_I'm not kidding._

_Whatever, Lee. Let's just get back. Can you ask Sam if I can borrow some clothes?_

_Fine. You need to stop phasing on impulse, though. __I'm__ running out of clothes because of you._

He laughed, though it was true. I phased back, and changed quickly. I ran back to the house.

"Everything cool?" Jacob asked the second I got in the door.

"Everything's fine," I confirmed. "But Sam, Seth wants to borrow some clothes…again." I giggled quietly. Sam rolled his eyes, but left the room. He went into the bedroom, and came back with a pair of sweats and a t-shirt I knew from looking would be bigger than Seth.

"I'll bring it to him," Sam said, and left. It was silent for a long time. Nobody spoke. The only sound was the outdoors and everyone's breathing. It was an awkward, uncomfortable silence.

"Well, this is big," Embry said. I looked up at him, glaring. He looked back at the floor. I heard a slight sniffling coming from the corner. I looked to see Emily with tears in her eyes.

"Em?" I asked, approaching her. "What's wrong?"

"I just don't understand why you didn't tell me, Leah. I'm happy for you, but why didn't you tell me?" It was hard to tell if she was truly upset about this, or if it was just the emotional hormones from the pregnancy. I stared at her for a moment.

"Emily, I was just about to tell you outside, but your news seemed so much more important," I explained, lying only the slightest bit. She nodded weakly.

"Okay," she said. I gave her a hug, and she squeezed me to her chest. I turned around, and all the guys were staring at us with confused looks on their faces. I laughed. They didn't.

The phone rang. Nobody moved to pick it up. The werewolves sat frozen at the table, not touching their food which was a first. The phone rang and rang. Finally, Jacob picked up.

"Hello?" he asked. There was a pause for the other person to speak.

"Yeah, hold on," he said. He then handed the phone to me. "It's your mom." I smiled, than took the phone.

"Hello?" I said, wondering what on earth my mom could possibly want.

"Sweetheart? It's mom," she said.

"I know, mom. What is it?"

"Sweetie, I would actually like it, if you're not on patrol tonight, if you would come home. I want to talk to you alone. It's nothing bad, just I want to speak with you about today's events."

"Okay, sure mom. I'll do that. I'll see you soon," I hung up. Everyone looked at me..

"My mom wants me to go home," I said quietly, suddenly embarrassed to be around them. "Seth, she told me to tell you to stay here," I continued. Even though that's not what she said, I told him that because I didn't want Seth in the room when my mom talked about the imprint.

"I'll take you home," Jacob offered, standing up. I nodded, and slipped into his arms.

"Goodnight everyone," I said quietly. I got a few grunts in response.

My mom just wanted to have one of those cheesy mother-daughter talks. It was corny, but I went along with it. She said she was happy that I wouldn't be so miserable anymore, and that she was happy that I would be nicer now. I apologized for everything I had said that hurt her...blah, blah, blah...whatever. I went to bed with a smile on my face, and for once, I didn't cry myself to sleep. I didn't have horrible nightmares, just a beautiful, dreamless sleep. When I woke up, Jacob was there. I smiled at him, lying next to me in my bed.

"Good morning, princess," he said, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Good morning," I repeated, pecking him lightly on the mouth.

"How did you sleep?" he asked.

"Fine," I said. I felt really rested, energized, and awake.

"What day is it, again?"

"Sunday. Did you want to go see the Cullens today?" he asked. It was like he could read my mind, even when we were human. That was what I was going to suggest.

"Yeah," I said, stretching, and getting out of bed. I looked in the mirror and frowned. My hair was all over the place, knotted and scraggly. I tried to finger-comb it, but my fingers wouldn't budge. I groaned and swung it up into a ponytail. Jacob watched me the entire time.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?" he asked out of the blue as I finished with my hair. I laughed.

"Jake, I just woke up, my hairs a mess…" He stood up, and cupped my face in his hand.

"Only you could pull that off," he whispered, and kissed me lightly on the mouth. The kiss soon turned more violent as I squeezed him to my body, and his arms snaked around my waist. My heart was beating a mile a minute, and I could hear his was the same. My hands moved themselves to his neck, and locked them there. Eventually, Jake pulled away. I pouted. He laughed.

"Later," he promised, then grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door to his car.

The ride to the Cullen place was comfortably silent. I smiled the whole way there, and he whistled a cheery melody that I didn't recognize. It instantly put me in a good mood. Again, we both winced as the sweet vampire smell enveloped the area. We laughed at our identical reactions.

I was nervous as the big white house with the perfect green lawn came into view. I contemplated what I was going to say. I could hear some chuckling and some voices talking at vampire speed. I frowned because I couldn't understand a word they said. My name stood out though, and it was linked with Jacob's. I smiled again.

Jacob took my hand and we approached the house. Time seemed to slow from the time that we walked up the front steps, to the time Jacob entered (without knocking of course) and the time that we entered the room side by side.

"So, you imprinted," Edward said.

**Another cliffhanger! I just love doing that! So, comment, review, rate, favorite and the whole nine yards. Sorry for the slower updates! ******** I haven't really had time to work on everything lately. The title contest is still in play. Check out my other stories too!**

**I just wuv you guys!!!**


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